Artificial Intelligence entering the corporate world. Is your business ready for the shift?
Rewritten Article
AI's influence is spreading rapidly across the corporate world, yet doubts linger: are businesses, workers, and leaders truly ready for this technological revolution?
Integrating AI can bring major transformations, accompanied by risks. Enterprise entities should brace themselves for the challenge.
"Businesses see the transformative potential of AI, but executives and employees often grapple with its workplace integration," said Rajprasath Subramanian, the principal enterprise architect for business and technology innovation at enterprise software giant SAP.
Numerous factors contribute to this struggle, including a lack of comprehensive understanding and training about AI capabilities, particularly regarding advancements in agentic AI and large language models.
A widespread concern is job displacement due to AI, leading to apprehension or resistance among the workforce. Subramanian explained in detail how such fear could hinder active engagement with AI tools and limit opportunities for upskilling.
Subramanian advises staying attuned to AI's rapid advancements, as organizations may struggle to keep up with the necessary training, potentially resulting in a skills gap.
AI can be a disruptive technology, and this presents challenges for businesses. A survey of 6,450 C-suite leaders and 6,000 non-C-suite employees conducted by IT and business services firm Accenture revealed that many anticipate a high pace of change continuing through 2025, and both groups expressed feeling less prepared to respond to it than they did a year prior.
Over half of C-suite leaders (57%) admitted their company is not fully prepared. After twelve months of rapid adoption, only half of C-suite leaders say their organizations are fully prepared for technological disruption. Just 36% say they have scaled generative AI solutions.
"Most companies lack a common AI foundation, which makes it difficult to balance the right speed with the right controls needed to scale," said Lan Guan, the Chief AI Officer at Accenture.
Subramanian pinpointed data or technology infrastructure limitations as the biggest challenge for executives looking to implement and scale generative AI. "Many CIOs are still hesitant to deploy and scale new AI tools due to unclear AI costs," Guan added. "The breakneck pace of AI advancements can lead to an overwhelming abundance of choices and paralyze decision-making."
To accelerate progress, Guan suggested customizing AI solutions to match specialized company data, as most organizations are struggling to find easy ways to do this. When asked about factors contributing to a lack of preparedness for AI and the factors that impact an organization's ability to maximize AI's value, Guan emphasized the influence of investment strategies and the implementation process.
"Generative AI's predicted productive improvement by more than 20% over the next three years," Guan pointed out. "A lack of preparedness for generative AI results in lost productivity and failure to achieve a meaningful ROI on the investments companies direct to it. Companies lagging in AI adoption and proficiency may find it challenging to compete with industry peers who have effectively harnessed AI for innovation and decision-making."
Adapting to AI may also present challenges in employee morale and retention. "Fear and uncertainty about AI's impact on job roles can lead to decreased employee morale, engagement, and increased turnover rates," said Subramanian.
To prepare their organizations for broader AI use, businesses can follow a few steps. First, develop a comprehensive AI strategy by collaborating with other C-suite executives, focusing on identifying AI's value-adding potential, establishing realistic timelines, and allocating necessary resources.
Second, invest in employee training and upskilling to bridge any skills gap. Proactive companies, like pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, have provided mandatory generative AI training to over 56,000 staff members to ensure their workforce is equipped to integrate AI into various business processes.
Third, businesses must ensure robust data governance and infrastructure. Close collaboration between chief data officers, CIOs, and executive teams is crucial to establish strong data governance practices, ensure data accuracy, and comply with regulations.
Subramanian underscored the importance of investing in scalable IT infrastructure to process large volumes of data, making proactive preparations for a smoother AI adoption and positioning organizations to fully capitalize on AI technology benefits.
To reap the benefits of AI, companies should rethink their work processes by building a strong digital core and collaborating to build a talent pipeline ready for the opportunities generative AI presents.
- Executives and employees sometimes struggle with the integration of AI in the workplace due to a lack of comprehensive understanding and training about its capabilities, particularly in regards to advancements in agentic AI and large language models.
- AI can bring major transformations to businesses, but it also presents challenges, as organizations may find it difficult to keep up with the necessary training, potentially resulting in a skills gap.
- The rapid advancements in AI technology may lead to an overwhelming abundance of choices, which can paralyze decision-making within businesses.
- Proactive companies, such as pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, have provided mandatory generative AI training to their workforce to ensure they are equipped to integrate AI into various business processes.
- To reap the benefits of AI, businesses should rethink their work processes, focusing on building a strong digital core and collaborating to build a talent pipeline ready for the opportunities generative AI presents, investing in scalable IT infrastructure, and ensuring robust data governance and infrastructure.
